


A Love Story in Three Parts

by zarabithia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But Order 66 still happens so there is character death, Equilateral Soulmate Threesome/Moresome Relationship, Fix-It of Sorts, Found Families, Multi, Multiple Soulmates, None of the Main Characters Listed Die, Soul Bond, Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 07:09:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14764976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: Obi-Wan never becomes Qui-Gon's Padawan. That makes finding his soulmates a little more difficult. But the will of the Force will not be denied.





	A Love Story in Three Parts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rachaelizame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachaelizame/gifts).



_**I. Then** _

_A. 25 Years Before the Fall of the Republic. Coruscant._

He has a temper - of this, Obi-Wan is aware. 

But now is not the right time to let it loose. Now is the time to control his temper and prove that he can still be a good _Jedi_ , even if he cannot be a good Jedi Knight. 

He stands at Master Yoda's side as Master Qui-Gon pauses in front of Bruk Chun, in the manner that he did not do with Obi-Wan. "Perhaps..." Master Qui-Gon looks down at Bruk Chun for a long while, and Obi-Wan wants to protest that. 

Bruk Chun has been a bully of the highest order; if anyone should be stuck being a _farmer_ , it is Bruk Chun! 

But Master Qui-Gon is consumed with a guilt that has long since been whispered of in the halls of the temple, and it is that guilt that he speaks of now. "I failed my last apprentice and you remind me of him so much," he tells Bruk Chun. "Perhaps... perhaps the Force wills me to correct that mistake." 

Beside Obi-Wan, Master Yoda grunts and pounds his stick against the floor. "Hasty, you must not be. A great teacher failure is. But not if repeat your mistakes you do." 

Master Yoda has always been on Obi-Wan's side, but it doesn't seem to matter at the moment. Then, Master Qui-Gon has always been stubborn; part of Obi-Wan respects him for that. It seems very... freeing, and Obi-Wan wonders if he will ever feel as confident in leading his own life. 

"I will take the Padawan of my choice, Master Yoda," Master Qui-Gon says. "As is my right. Shall we take the matter before the rest of the Council?" 

Obi-Wan is mortified by the very idea, and he would hate to be a reason for the great Jedi Master to stand before the rest of the Council. They would not side with Obi-Wan, anyway, because Master Qui-Gon is _right_. A Master does have the right to determine his own Padawan, and the rest of the Council would not want to interfere with that right the way Master Yoda is currently doing.

"Very well. Allow you to, I will. Agree with you, I do not." 

Master Qui-Gon bows deeply to Master Yoda, then pauses and does the same to Obi-Wan. It feels like a very deep insult, though it is not intended to be; perhaps it is only the smirk of Bruk Chun that is making it feel like one, after all. 

"May the Force be with you, Master Yoda," Master Qui-Gon says. "And you as well, Obi-Wan." 

Obi-Wan watches him go, before turning to Master Yoda. He straightens his back and pushes away the anger he is trying not to express. "It is not so bad, Master Yoda," he says. "I can still serve the Force in the AgriCorps." 

"Hmm," Master Yoda says. "A good Jedi, you will be. The will of the Force, this is not. Cloud Master Qui-Gon's judgment, pride and grief have. Still, follow our laws we must. Gather your things and prepare for departure, you should." 

There is not much to gather. As a Jedi in training, Obi-Wan is not meant to have attachments, and Obi-Wan has always assumed that to mean physical possessions, as well. 

After he has packed, he takes a moment to push up the sleeves of his robes. There are three crowns on his forearm, as there have always been and Obi-Wan takes a measure of relief in seeing them. He has heard that it is possible to make a mistake in life and to have your soulmate marks disappear entirely. Quinlan Vos - who had become Master Tholme's Padawan two years ago - had told Obi-Wan that he sees it happen "all the time on the Outer Rim." 

But the gold, blue, and purple crowns still intersect on Obi-Wan's arm. As he rubs his fingers along the marks, the purple one throbs gently and he can feel concern radiating from wherever in the galaxy his soulmate might be. The blue and purple ones, as always, are silent. He knows that one of the silent ones represent him, but the other... his soulmate must not have been born yet, or they are very good at concealing their feelings. 

Perhaps the relief that Obi-Wan feels when he still sees his soulmate marks is a sign that Master Qui-Gon had been correct, and Obi-Wan is not meant to be a Jedi knight. Should Jedi knights want soulmates? The Council stresses against attachment, but there have been rumors of those who have sworn allegiance to their soulmates. 

Regardless of what the right path may be, it is also possible that Obi-Wan's soulmates will still cross his path, even though Obi-Wan is heading to Bandomeer.

_B. 22 Years Before the Fall of the Republic, Mandalore._

Satine is grateful for the help of the Jedi, of course, and Master Qui-Gon does seem very wise. 

But oh, his Padawan is a _tyrant._

Satine squats between them both in an abandoned cave where they are staying for the night and listens as the Padawan details yet another reason that they shouldn't be here. 

"Mandalore is a lost cause, Master Qui-Gon," the Padawan is saying. 

"The Council disagrees, my young Padawan. And so too would the Duchess." 

Satine thinks of all of her people who have died in this forsaken Civil War. Could she ever call it a _lost cause_? When so many have fought and died for that very cause? 

No. She could never dishonor them so. 

Beside her, Master Qui-Gon offers her something that had probably been bread at one time, and she takes it, gratefully. "Thank you," she says. She splits hers in half and offers it to the Padawan. He turns up his nose, and Satine can feel her temper flare. 

On her arm, one of the two crowns throbs painfully. Satine does not have to look to know which one it is. There have been three crowns on her forearm for as long as she can remember, and the blue one is the only one that ever communicates with her. The purple and gold one always remain silent. 

"You are lucky to have three marks. Not every one has two soulmates," Satine's mother had told her once - back before this terrible Civil War had taken both of Satine's parents from her. 

Satine rubs the marks on her forearm, tries to send reassurance to the blue crown, and eats both pieces of the bread. 

_C. 3 Years Before the Fall of the Republic, Dantooine_

"You're looking rough, Captain," Cody says to Rex after the battle is over. Generals Billaba and Chun had been fortunate to secure a win, but the victory had not come without a significant cost. 

"You're one to talk," Rex said derisively. "You get looked over?" 

"Line's too long for my little scratch," Cody answers. "With all the casualties we've had today, I can't take up anyone's time. Wouldn't be right." 

Rex rolls his eyes and pulls out an emergency kit that they all carry, just in case. "Let me take care of it, then. I'm not injured." 

"How'd you manage that? My general actually knows how to take care of herself and I still got injured," Cody says. "Your general..." 

Rex shakes his head. "Let's not talk about him, and let me have your arm." 

Cody reluctantly allows Rex to take a look at his arm and to do his best to stop the bleeding. "Did the Padawan make it?" he asks. 

Rex stills for a moment. "No," he says quietly. "He didn't. General Chun did, but the child did not make it. Yours?" 

"Both General Billaba and Padawan Dume are fine," Cody answers. "I don't know what the Jedi are thinking ... sending children out into the war." 

"It's a war," Rex says with a shrug. "They don't have much of a - " Rex stops abruptly, and Cody already know what he is looking at. Cody abruptly pulls his arm away. "You have one, too." 

"Most of the clones do, Captain," he says abruptly. "It's nothing new, or anything to gawk at." 

They aren't supposed to have soulmates. At least, that's what some of the Jedi say, and some of the allies in the War, too. Cody's never heard General Billaba or her Padawan say so, But the clones come from a lab; the idea that they might have soulmates when so many seem not to have the actual chance to meet their soulmate angers many. In the many times that the Jedi have forced Cody's general to work with Rex's general, Cody has heard General Chun express such anger.

Cody's general tells her Padawan often that such behavior is not appropriate for a Jedi.

"You know... it makes you think," Rex says slowly, and Cody hates it. He likes when people are direct - when they don't fuss around with what they are trying to say. 

"If you've got something to say, Captain, say it," Cody spits out, and he rubs his arm, because the blue crown is bothering him. It's always the blue one first. He thinks that whomever the blue one belongs to must worry an awful lot. 

"Before we came out here, I used to believe that we were made to be good soldiers," Rex tells him.

"That _is_ why we were made," Cody interrupts. 

"But I thought that meant doing everything they told you to do. Maybe that's what they intended. But we're not droids; if we were droids, we wouldn't have soulmates." 

"Chips in our head say otherwise." 

"Chips can be taken out," Rex says. At Cody's look, Rex shrugs. "We all have a choice to make, Captain." 

Cody frowns at that, and rubs arm again, where the purple crown is acting up.

* * *

**II. Later:**

_A. 13 Years Before the Fall of the Republic, Bandomeer._

It has been twelve years since Obi-Wan has seen Bruk Chun. In that time, Obi-Wan has come to find a good deal of peace in his life in the AgriCorps. He still feels a pull to the stars on some nights, and often his dreams are severe enough to make him wake up covered in sweat. War-torn planets plague him, and no amount of meditation can prevent that. 

Obi-Wan believes the Force wants him here, on Bandomeer, learning his trade. In time, he hopes to make it to the Outer Rim, where he will help those in need even more. 

But he also believes in listening to the Force. 

He still has his first lightsaber, and he practices his forms twice a day. He has always favored Ataru, but his dreams persist, and he slowly adds Soresu to his nightly rituals, after the plants have been attended to and before he goes to bed. The Jedi database is still available to them, even if many do not view them as true Jedi, and he is able to follow the forms with ease. 

It isn't forbidden, but he knows that there are many in the Council of Agricultural Corps Masters who think he is wasting time. Obi-Wan hopes they are right. But, although he may no longer be in training to be a Jedi Knight, he still believes in following the Order, and that means trusting in the Force.

In the mornings, the purple crown on his arm throbs with affection. It has grown stronger through the years, as Obi-Wan has gotten stronger with the Force. He wonders, sometimes, if his abilities in the Force are amplifying all of their feelings across the bond. He has met others and heard stories that indicate that his level of feeling his soulmates through their bond... should be less acute than it is. 

Sometimes, Quinlan Vos still stops to see how he is doing and to spar with him; for that, Obi-Wan is grateful. Vos is _crazy_ and he doesn't much care if Obi-Wan is too. Sometimes, Quinlan Vos will pat the lock shaped mark on his own arm, just below his tattoo, and tell him that Jedi soulmarks are louder than the others; sometimes, Obi-Wan believes him. 

The affection back from the owner of his purple crown feels like a hug, and Obi-Wan imagines that they must be very kind. 

In the evenings, when Obi-Wan is exhausted from practicing Soresu, he feels his soulmate through the golden crown. It feels more like a fond squeeze, and Obi-Wan suspects his soulmate is more reserved than the owner of the purple crown.

Obi-Wan finishes up his Soresu practice, squeezes his arm in reply, and is quite startled at the feel of another Force presence near by. It's ... louder than anything he's ever felt before, honestly, and the memory of Obi-Wan's dreams make him somewhat weary.

He is surprised to see that the Force leads him to Bruk Chun and a _child._

"Master Qui-Gon is dead," Chun says abruptly, and the sorrow and rage coming off the child crashes over Obi-Wan in waves. "He saved this child from being a slave out of a misguided believe that he would be the Chosen One, but the Council has denied the boy training. Qui-Gon ... was a fool, and that's why he is dead. But he always spoke kind of you. A thousand lectures on how you could still amount to something, even though you're a washout on Bandomeer." 

"Feeding people is important," Obi-Wan says dryly. "I would be a disgrace to the Code if I did not know that." 

"I think you are a disgrace to the Code, regardless. But maybe you can do something with his other failure." 

The child's eyes are red, and Obi-Wan is reaching for his hand even before Bruk Chun has left. "Hello, youngling. What is your name?" 

"I'm Anakin," the child says. 

In the distance, Bruk Chun's retreating form is already difficult to make out, and both the crowns on Obi-Wan's arm offer him comfort.

Obi-Wan offers his comfort to the child in front of him. "I will instruct you in ways of the Force, Anakin. You have my word." 

_B. 2 Years Before the Fall of the Republic, Mandalore._

There has not been much good news since the Separatist and Republic War began, and Satine is certain that sending _Bruk Chun_ back to Mandalore is only going to make things even worse. 

She is wrong, as it turns out.

The minute Bruk Chun walks in with two clone commanders, Satine's entire arm tingles. It's never done _that_ before; the long myriad of sensations she has felt since the marks appeared on her skin has never known the acute tingle. 

She sees the way the clone commander on Bruk Chun's left widens his eyes and he starts to grasp his own arm, before he thinks better of it. 

"Get out," Satine says to Bruk Chun.

"Excuse me? We have been sent by the Jedi Order to - "

"Get out," she says. "I am still the Duchess here and my authority on this plant out rules yours."

"Fine," Bruk Chun says. "I have always considered Mandalore to be a lost cause anyway, as you know, _Duchess._ Come on, 2224 and 7567." 

A number? How can Bruk Chun stand there and refer to Satine's soulmate as a _number?_ She knows the clones have designations, but she also knows her associates in the Senate that the Jedi refer to the clones with actual names. For example, dear kind and trusted Padmé has worked often with a General Plo and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, and has referred to the clone that assists them as Wolffe. Satine also knows that General Billaba, the Jedi Master she had requested for this mission but the Council was unable to send for reasons they would not divulge, works closely with Padmé often; she cannot imagine an instance in which Padmé would call someone a friend if they were prone to calling others by mere numbers.

"You may leave the clone commander on your left here. I wish to speak to him." 

"You may have authority here, _Duchess,_ but this man is -"

"This man is Mandalorian, by virtue of his blood connection to Jango Fett," Satine hisses, and the concern and amusement pounding through her soulmate marks make the tingle in her arm even more discerning. "You will leave us." 

The clone commander on Bruk Chun's right smiles, and Bruk Chun grumbles under his breathe as the two of them leave. Satine comes to stand in front of him and offers him his hand. 

"My lady," he says as he takes her hand in his. The concern in her blue crown stills and her entire arm tickles. She wonders if the tickle will always remain, each time they touch. She wonders how they can keep touching, when at least two wars separate them. 

"You must be my gold one," she says. "What do your men call you?" 

"Cody," he says, and his smile is awkward. "M'am. Duchess." 

"We're soulmates, Cody. You should call me Satine." She glances down where their hands touch. "Have you met our third?" 

"Not yet." 

It's disappointing, but Satine focuses on the happiness she can feel and hopes their third can feel it; she hopes it is enough to tide their third over until they can all meet. 

_C. The Fall of the Republic, Kaller._

The call comes, and as far as Palpatine knows, 2224 follows the order.

But a simple conversation on Mandalore two years prior had made Cody remove the chip.

He has a choice.

"General, run!" he says instead of opening fire. "Dume, run!" 

It buys them time. The general's voice soon echoes Cody's. "Go, Padawan, and do not look back!" 

His choice doesn't save everyone, and Cody knows that he will spend the remainder of his life hating himself for not being able to save his general. But it is another clone who shoots the general, although Cody is sure to return the favor.

After the general falls, Cody knows he cannot fight his brothers and win - not when there is a bigger priority. He could stay, and maybe he could reduce the number of clone commanders by several.

But there is still the matter of the child. 

The child is trying so hard to be brave, when Cody finds him, but it is obvious that he's terrified. 

"I'm sorry," he says as gently as he can. "I couldn't save her. But I didn't kill her." 

"I- I know," Caleb says. "What are we going to do? What's happening, Cody?" 

Cody doesn't know what to tell him. He also doesn't know what to tell the two people expressing concern through his soulmate bond. 

"I know a woman," he says. "One of my soulmates. She had to go into exile when the Senate began occupying Mandalore. I think it's time we go to her." 

Cody wishes he could go find Rex, along the way. But it is too risky, when Cody has a child and two soulmates to protect. 

"We?" 

"Yeah, kid," Cody says gruffly. "You're stuck with me now."

* * *

**III. Now**

_A. 1 Year After the Fall of the Republic. Jakku._

Much has changed since the fall of the Republic - since all of Obi-Wan's dreams came true - but what has not changed is that people on far away desert planets still need help in growing food. Obi-Wan once took a vow to help those people and it is a vow that the fall of the Republic has not changed. In fact, the fall of the Republic guarantees that even more people are starving, especially those on the Outer Rim worlds like Jakku.

These days, both he and the young man who might have been his Padawan - had Obi-Wan actually been a Jedi knight - practice their lightsaber training at dawn and again at nightfall. The child should not have a lightsaber at all, but Quinlan Vos has visited them twice since the fall of the Republic and once, he brought the child a kyber crystal. That isn't how it is supposed to work; a child is supposed to pick their own after training in the creche. But Anakin's entire education has been unorthodox, so Obi-Wan could hardly put his foot down when it came to having an unorthodox lightsaber. The kyber crystal is almost as good of a gift as the day that Quinlan Vos brought them Shmi Skywalker, newly freed from a life of slavery. 

Obi-Wan and Anakin are not knights, but their forms have been honed thanks to the teachings of Jedi masters who never took either of them as Padawans, and Obi-Wan is pleased each time he watches Anakin's carefully controlled form move through the motions. 

Obi-Wan's visions tell him that the war will come to him, as do Anakin's visions. Obi-Wan knows they will be ready when that happens.

But before that happens, Obi-Wan's soulmates find him.

"I just thought I'd gotten away from _sand_ ," Anakin is complaining, as he works on repairing a vital part of the vaporator that is needed to grow green food on a planet that rarely sees it. "And here we are."

"Your mother doesn't seem to mind as much as you do," Obi-Wan remarks, before his arm begins to tingle all over.

He looks up at the people who have walked through the door to the make-shift laboratory. There are three of them there, all clad in robes, but Obi-Wan can tell that one of them is a child. He can tell that the child is also Force sensitive because he's doing a decent job of shielding himself. 

The other two slowly remove their hoods to reveal their faces.

"You came," Obi-Wan says softly. "I was beginning to think you never would." 

"You're a difficult man to find, Mister Kenobi," the woman says. Her eyes are warm and she places a reassuring hand on the child's back; Obi-Wan knows immediately that this is his purple crown, full of affection always. 

"If we hadn't bumped into one of your pals, we might never have found you," the man says. He is as handsome as the woman is beautiful, but the steadfastness of his stature speaks to the type of bond Obi-Wan has always had with his golden crown.

Quietly, Obi-Wan thanks Quinlan Vos for being nosy and not being able to take no for an answer. All those times he'd asked Obi-Wan about his soulmarks now suddenly seem like a gift from the Force itself.

Beside him, Anakin clears his throat. "So... kid, the grown-ups are gonna need some alone time. You up for some cookies? My mom makes the best." 

The kid looks at Obi-Wan and Anakin and then back to the two adults. 

"It's alright," the woman tells him. "We do have ... some things to discuss." 

"Yeah, I know. _Soulmate_ stuff," the kid says, his voice full of reverence. 

"Lucky," Anakin says as he jumps over the counter and motions for the kid to follow. "My marks can't ever decide what they are supposed to be. Some days, they are swords; some days they are blasters." 

"Mine are green! And they're ships!" the kid says excitedly. 

As they depart, Obi-Wan turns his attention back to his soulmates. 

_B. 1 Year After the Fall of the Republic. Jakku._

Satine is a pacifist. 

It's very important to her to remain that way. So many have died, and she knows that the death toll rises every day. 

How many speeches did she give to the Senate in which she told them that fighting is a _choice?_

"We always have a choice," Cody mentioned once; it had been one of the earliest things he'd ever said to her, when they met again one year ago. 

But those choices - ones which had seemed so clear and obvious on Mandalore - seem hazy and uncertain now that she sits at a table with her soulmates, a child Obi-Wan has apparently raised, that child's mother, and another child who will depend upon them. 

Mandalore is occupied, democracy has fallen, and there is no peace anywhere in the galaxy. What is a pacifist supposed to do under those conditions? 

"There's more of us now, Obi-Wan," Anakin says, as he deposits another peace of fruit onto Caleb's plate. The child takes it without question, because living hand to mouth across the galaxy for a year is easier when you are not still _growing_. 

"Yes, Anakin, I too can count," Obi-Wan chides lightly. "Even high enough to add three to three." 

"I hope so," Shmi Skywalker says, "Or else, I would hate to think who I have trusted my son's education to all these years." 

Obi-Wan smiles at her, and Satine can feel the warmth of the affection that Obi-Wan feels for the Skywalkers through their bond. It feels much the same as the affection she already feels for Caleb, except stronger. 

"My point," Anakin says, "Is that we can finally do something, against the Empire." 

"You want to fight the Empire?" Caleb says and his voice is a mixture of respect and the kind of fear that one might expect from a child who had experienced the death of his parent-figure first hand. 

Anakin looks down at him. "Well," he says, "I'm not a Jedi. I wasn't even really officially in the AgriCorps, but I have a lightsaber. So does Obi-Wan. So do you. That's three almost Jedi and an experienced battle commander. There's at least two more Jedi out there and at least two more battle commanders. That's enough to do some damage and ruin the days of some people in the Empire, right?" 

"Anakin," Shmi says softly, "They have destroyed entire temples." 

"And they're going to keep doing so, until somebody stops them," Anakin insists. "What do you always say, Mother? About helping people?" 

"There are also sympathetic fractions in the Senate," Obi-Wan remarks. "Or... so I have heard."

Satine watches this exchange. She watches her soulmates, who exchange glances that do not disagree with Anakin's words at all, and she watches the look of resignation that comes over Shmi's face. She watches as determination fills every bone in Caleb's face, and she feels the resolve of her soulmates through the blue and golden crowns on her arm.

There's something else in their bond, too, and it feels like an apology.

Satine does not know yet whether it is necessary.

_C. 1 Year After the Fall of the Republic. Jakku._

Tomorrow will be a big day.

Tomorrow there will be discussions about the Empire and how it is going to impact their lives. Tomorrow the discussion that began at dinner will continue, and the hard choices they will need to make will be discussed at length.

Tomorrow, the playful sparring between Anakin and Caleb will need to be a more aggressive sparring match, to make sure that both are ready for what the galaxy will demand. 

Tomorrow is going to be a long and busy day.

So tonight, Cody really should get some sleep. But he finds himself unable to stop marveling at the fact that his soulmates are here - at his side - and they both want him, failures and all. 

Tonight, Cody gets very little sleep, because joy is an emotion that is not conducive to sleep - and because he really _does_ want to know how many times he has to touch his soulmates before the tickle in his arm disappears. 

It hasn't so far, but the three of them are definitely up for the challenge.


End file.
